Brent has closed in on the $50 a barrel marker

 Gas supply concerns in the UK eased on Thursday

Gas supply concerns in the UK eased on Thursday leading to gas prices tanking on the prompt and futures market. The prompt and near futures contracts shed between 1.75p and 2.40p while gas demand was still strong at around 10% above the seasonal norm. Supplies were robust with LNG sent-out topping 75MCM, Norwegian imports exceeding 100MCM while imports through the BBL interconnector were at the highest this winter as operators took advantage of lower prompt prices on the continent. The National grid also increased is forecast for wind generation for Friday which should lighten some of the demand on the Linepack.  

Carbon EUAs were steady for much of the session

Baseload power futures tracked gas and carbon EUAs lower on Thursday although declines were more modest than those witnessed in the NBP futures market. Carbon EUAs were steady for much of the session and only eased later as contracts settled around 2.0% or 58 cent per tonne down. Near curve baseload contracts declined by between £0.60/MWh and £1.60/MWh. A forecast for increased wind generation and lower prompt prices on the NBP weighed on the day ahead baseload product yesterday. The contract settled £7.35/MWh down as wind generation is to increase to around 10.5GW on Friday, from 5.4GW on Thursday  

 Crude oil prices ticked up again on Thursday as the dollar weakened further

Crude oil prices ticked up again on Thursday as the dollar weakened further while the market watched for the outcome of the OPEC meeting. The group along with Russia and other large producers have had discussions around the easing of current production cuts. It seems the group were unable to come to a consensus on strategy and only agreed to a small increase of 500,000 barrels per day for January. It’s been said that Saudi Arabia wanted to extend the current agreement until the end of Q1-2021 but had to give some concessions to Russia who are believed to be eager to ramp up production.  

 NBP futures have recovered some of the sharp losses recorded yesterday

The UK gas system has fallen 10MCM shy to a demand of 314MCM this morning due to a drop off in LNG send-out from Milford Haven and lower nominations for imports through the BBL interconnector today. While the prompt market remains silent, NBP futures have recovered some of the sharp losses recorded yesterday. All the remining months of the winter have added around a penny in early trading while the summer contract had yet to get off the mark. In the crude oil markets, Brent has closed in on the $50 a barrel marker and last traded at $49.38 a barrel up 67 cents.